How Ever Will She Live Without Me!
by Hermione 2000
Summary: This is the sequel to 'Falling'. Will Draco Malfoy's father find out who landed him a cell in Azkaban? Blooming romance, DracoOC. As in 'Falling', Draco is OOC.
1. Upsetting Thoughts

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How Ever Will She Live Without Me!

A/N. Yup, I'm back again (everyone groans)!!! This is the sequel to my story 'Falling' though this is a lot longer. I think the title for that was kinda stupid because no one actually fell……anyway…. I know some people may disagree with me about the use of an exclamation mark at the end of the title instead of a question mark but I thought it sounded better…. in my head….I mean the way he says it is just….I'll shut up now!!!:} 

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Chapter 1: Upsetting Thoughts

'Damn, it's cold!' said Kerry to no one in particular as she walked with the rest of her house to Care of Magical Creatures. It was snowing slightly, though not enough to settle, and frost clouded up the castle windows. Kerry loved the dry snow you could build snowmen with but not the wet mushy snow that had been forecasted for this week.

It had been a month since the episode with Draco Malfoy in the Astronomy Tower, when she had managed to persuade him (and by using a little reverse psychology) not to commit suicide by flinging himself off the wall.

'Hey!' she said, prodding the tall figure that was Draco Malfoy in the arm as the assembled in front of Hagrid's hut.

She received a grunt for a reply.

Though he was still fairly cold to her most of the time there was no denying it, they had definitely become friends.

'Chilly, isn't it?' she said, trying to strike up conversation which always proved to be a difficult thing to do.

'It _is _winter,' he replied shortly.

'I'm aware of that,' she said, narrowing her eyes as she realised he wasn't in the right frame of mind to be particularly friendly.

But she did manage to prize him out of his shell and get him to talk as the class continued. Being his only friend and the only person willing to be his partner, he was obliged to be reasonably nice to her.

Today Hagrid had managed to bring in half a dozen Crups (A/N. Jack Russell type things with forked tail, for all of you who haven't read Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them!!) for them to 'examine', well, more like play with. Because they were puppies and because Crups are generally very playful, most of the class enjoyed the lesson…

'Aaarrgghh! Get it off me!' yelled Draco as one of the Crups decided to clamber up on his chest and start licking his face whilst he was sitting cross legged on the floor.

'Don't be such a baby!' giggled Kerry as Draco unsuccessfully tried to fend off the dog-like creature.

'I'm not being a baby I just…bleurgh!' Draco started before the Crup started a fresh attack, now barking fretfully as Draco refused to give it any attention other than trying to push it off.

The whole class was laughing at him by now and Draco was going distinctly pink. Saving him from further embarrassment, Kerry relented and picked up the struggling puppy before distracting it from Draco with some food.

'Thanks,' he muttered, sitting up on his knees by her, staring round, pride slightly hurt.

'You OK?' she asked, now concerned that he looked uncharacteristically humbled.

'Of course I am! It was just a puppy!' he snapped at her, mood changing dramatically, before he got up and stomped off.

'Would you like to…' said Hagrid, gesturing for her to go after him. 'Don' want him wanderin' off and missin' most of the lesson, even if he is a bit of a coward when it comes to dealin' with…'

'Oh, leave him be!' she said crossly to the rest of her laughing class and she went after him.

It didn't take her long to find him, leaning against a tree, muttering to himself.

'Draco?' she started, concerned but her cut over her.

'I should have jumped.'

'Don't say that, please.'

'He'll find out.'

'How can he? He's locked away in Azkaban for life. It was right what you did. Turning in your own dad as a Death Eater takes a lot of guts!'

'He'll escape and come back for me. I know he will!'

'Don't be silly,' she said gently, laying a hand on his arm. 'You didn't stomp off because of the Crup, did you? You've been upsetting yourself with…'

'I haven't been _upsetting _myself. I've just been thinking!' he snapped back, through gritted teeth as he wrenched his arm away from her touch.

'I don't have time to stand here and try to persuade you to stop being so stupid,' she said in frustration before turning her back on him and walking back to Care of Magical Creatures. This time he didn't follow.

A/N. That was quite short….more of an introduction!!! If you're confused about that conversation, don't worry because it will all be explained in the next chapter!!! Chapter two should be up in about a week!! BTW way I'd like to say hello to my friend MIDNIGHT BREEZE who is an awesome writer so you should all go read her story/ies!!!:}

Disclaimer: I only own Kerry, the rest is JKR's!!!:}


	2. He Knew It all Along

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How Ever Will She Live Without Me!

A/N. Chapter 2, like it say below!!! BTW if you're looking for a story with loads of action…then you're in the wrong place because I think this has to be one of the most BORING things I have written and it's just so….so…dull…but I'm going to put it up anyway because Jo told me to (she's my friend, not a little voice in my head…..just if you were wondering) !!!!!:}

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Chapter 2: He knew it all along.

She was still fuming that night as she went to bed, thinking about Draco. It had been a week after they'd talked in the Astronomy Tower that Draco had finally gone to Dumbledore and told him (though he probably already knew) that Lucius was a Death Eater _and_ where he could find proof. Lucius, however, never found out how, suddenly, all his secrets were revealed and he had been landed a cell in Azkaban. Kerry believed that the thing that haunted Draco the most was, as he was being dragged from the courtroom, Lucius swore he would get revenge on the son of a hippogrith who turned him in.

Too agitated to go to sleep Kerry got up and decided to go for another one of her night-time wanderings, just to give herself a chance to relax and make her feel sleepy.

Just as she had climbed out of the portrait hole and thinking that perhaps she was in fact too _sleepy_ to walk around, something very tall and very solid collided with her.

'Draco?' she whispered, catching herself before she fell. 'What on earth…'

'Shhh! There's no time!' he whispered hurriedly, taking hold of her shoulders. He looked more terrified than she ever seen him; blond hair straggled all over his face and with eyes full of fear. 'I was right. He's out. They busted him out! Now he's here! He's here! But he doesn't know…'

'Draco, you're scaring me!' said Kerry fearfully, as his grip on her shoulders started to hurt. 'What are you talking about?'

'What do you think I'm talking about?' he hissed with a manic look in his eyes, shaking her slightly then, realising he was making no sense talking in the panicked way that her was, so he tried to calm himself down. 

'Listen Kerry, please because this is very important. When I leave you, you _must _go straight to Dumbledore. Tell him my father's escaped and has come for me so my family, meaning me, mother and him, can flee the country.

'But…but…but,' stammered Kerry, trying to understand.

'Shhh,' he said placing a finger to her lips. 'I've told my father I had to fetch something. He has no idea _I _was the one who betrayed him. I hope to God he won't find out. Will you go to Dumbledore?' Though he spoke quickly in his haste, none of the emotion and fear he felt was lost.

'Of course I will! So you have to go?'

'Yes,' said Draco stiffly, pulling away and turning round.

'Be careful,' said Kerry softly to the retreating figure.

As soon as Kerry had come to her senses she carried out Draco's wish and ran faster than she believed was possible to Dubledores office.

'_Miss Summers!_' screeched a voice down the corridor, stopping her in her tracks. '_What _exactly do you think you're doing out of bed at this time of night!' She recognised the voice as Professor McGonagall's and ran in her general direction, not particularly caring about what her punishment would be.

'Professor!' she said breathlessly. 'It's Draco Malfoy. His fathers escaped and came to get him so they could flee the country. Draco had just enough time to tell me to go to Dumbledore and…and…' here Kerry broke off, unable to contain the tears any longer and continued in a shaking voice. 'Please Professor he…he's my friend. You have to do something, please!'

Professor McGonagall thankfully believed her straight away, knowing her to be a truthful girl and said, 'Don't worry Miss Summer's,' in quite a different voice as she placed her hand reassuringly on her shoulder. 'We'll go to Dumbledore now.'

Once in Dumbledore's office Kerry felt slightly calmer. She told Dumbledore everything he had told her…which wasn't much and tried to convince herself that everything would be fine. Because, if truth be told, Kerry was more fond of Draco than she'd like to admit…even to herself.

'Miss Summers,' said Dumbledore gently, breaking her from her miserable thoughts. 'I suggest you go back to bed and stop worrying. I will inform the Ministry at once and they will send some of Britons finest to recapture Lucius and make sure Narcissa and Draco are well.'

'Ok,' Kerry sniffed, getting up to leave.

She didn't sleep at all that night and dawn saw her sitting in the common room, waiting for the others to get up.

Hermione, who was Kerry's roommate and quite a good friend, entered the common room first that morning, to see her sitting there looking like the sky had fallen in.

'What's happened?' she exclaimed, rushing over. 'You don't look like you've slept a wink!'

'I…I…' stammered Kerry, trying and failing not to cry, although she had been sure that she had no more tears left in her.

Before Hermione could get another word out the rest of the girls emerged from the dormitory. A young girl called Charlotte Crompton, who was in front, cried, though not spitefully;

'My God Kerry! What's the matter? You…you're crying! But you _never _cry!'

Kerry looked at her, terrified, before running out through the portrait hole, hiding the steady flow of tears that were coursing down her cheeks.

'Oh, well done!' said Hermione crossly before going after her.

A/N. If I do, by mistake ever write the name Jenny instead of Kerry it is because she was the girl in my last story and I'm kind of used to writing that name, so if that happens I'm v. sorry!!! Is it just me or do Ron, Harry and Hermione just have to pop up in every story written??? I mean in this one they just pop up, they won't leave me alone…..the attention seekers!!! Grrrr…you'll see what I mean in the next chapter!!! One last thing PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!:}

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	3. Denounced

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How Ever Will She Live Without Me!

A/N. The little stars (at least they _should _be little stars or something like that instead of a gap) mean that the POV changes…I don't think anyone will get confused!!!:}

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Chapter 3: Denounced

Once Hermione had prized the story from Kerry she sat down and bit her lip, thinking.

That was a brave thing he did, turning in Lucius. Look, Kerry, don't worry. Like Dumbledore said the Ministry will track them down. He'll be alright.'

'You don't understand, Hermione,' sniffed Kerry, determined not to let herself cry again. 'You didn't see how terrified Draco was! I...I've never seen him so scared!' 

Just then Harry and Ron came round the corner. Ron was grinning, obviously hearing the tail end of the conversation.

'So it's true?' he said, grinning all the more. 'Malfoy _was _scared to death by a widdle puppy…' here he broke off, laughing hysterically.

'Ron, somehow I don't think that's what they're talking about,' muttered Harry, elbowing him in the ribs as he noticed Kerry was looking both as if she could kill Ron or cry again.

Ron stopped laughing abruptly.

'Oh,' he said simple, quailing under Hermione's furious stare.

'You're not helping! Either of you!' she hissed at them.

Harry persisted that he'd done nothing to make the situation worse so, that evening, when they had some time to themselves, they were sitting in the common room discussing what had happened and what should be done.

'Don't worry Kerry, the Ministry will track him down,' said Harry reassuringly, repeating what Hermione had said earlier.

Kerry sniffed, grateful for the encouragement from her friends, before walking across to the window where the full moon was hanging high in the sky.

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A few hundred miles away Draco Malfoy was looking at that exact same moon.

God knows where we are now, he thought, lying on his back gazing upwards. His parent's weren't far away. It was almost like a camping holiday…apart from without the tents and the rain. Draco was pondering this when his father called him over and told him to help pack things away. They were travelling by an old flying carpet that Lucius had kept in their manor, hidden for such occasions.

Once sitting comfortably on the carpet in the air and once his mother and father had turned their backs on him, he simpley dropped a piece of rubbish from his hand and watched it flutter down to the ground.

Draco knew he could leave a subtle trail for the ministry to trace and it would make tracking them down a lot easier. Because of the fact that it would be easy for the Ministry to trace them, Lucius had been very careful about leaving litter, tracks and other things that could give their route away.

Draco turned back from dropping the paper…and came face to face with his father.

Grabbing him painfully by the hair Lucius snarled into Draco's face;

'Be careful what you're doing, boy, or is it to be your wish for us to be thrown in Azkaban?'

'I'm sorry!' gasped Draco.

Lucius let go of his hair and struck him round the face.

He'd do a lot worse to me, Draco thought as his cheek began to throb, if he knew that I hadn't dropped that paper by accident, if he knew that _I _was the one who turned him in…

Lucius was talking again and Draco drove his mind back towards his father.

'Now Draco,' he said, as he adopted a slightly calmer tone. 'I want you to tell me, man to man, if you've ever…ahhh…become, let's say, _interested _in a girl at school?'

Draco pushed all thoughts of Kerry that had arisen at those words to the back of his mind, and churned out the answer he knew his father wished to hear.

'Of course not!' he said indignantly, straightening himself. 'I hold myself by your teachings that when I am of marriageable age I should chooses someone to be my wife and not before. I would never bring down our family name like that.'

'I'm glad to hear that Draco, it's just,' began Lucius again, before moving to sit next to his son and put his arm round him in an almost threatening sort of way, 'before I was shipped off to Azkaban I heard that you, Draco, were getting…friendly with a _Gryffindor _girl. Is that true?' he finished, with a tone of warning in his voice.

Quickly Draco covered himself and laughed a laugh that was cold and unfeeling.

'Her and me? Oh please! As if _I'd _stoop that low! Father, if I want to pass Care of Magical Creatures with that oaf teaching us then the best thing for me to do is to be "friends" with her. If you really must know, the girl irritates me just as much as that Hermione Granger!'

Lucius chuckled.

'I'm glad I brought you up so well,' he said, now ruffling his son's hair before he moved away.

'I'm sorry Kerry,' Draco whispered into the ever-present breeze.

A/N. That conversation was really badly written….oh well….please R/R!!!!! That bit where they're looking up at the moon is off Beethoven's Second where they do that exact same thing….now to you people who've seen that film, could you think of that song that's going on at that bit coz it kinda sets the scene…ya know…The sky will be a perfect blue, then I look into your eyes and know, there's someone who is just like you, the day I fall in love….or words to that effect!!!:} 

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	4. True Feelings

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How Ever Will She Live Without Me!

A/N. I think I ought to warn you I wrote probably this whole chapter and maybe the next at about midnight on New Year's Eve/Day so it may be a little…er…sleepy??? BTW Hermione's v. out of character in this bit I think!!!:}

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Chapter Four: True Feelings 

The next few days were like a nightmare to Kerry. Never before had she realised how much she needed his presence round her.

During these days she'd become closer to Harry, Ron and Hermione. They were the only people she'd told seeing as no one else cared whether Draco was alive or dead at the best of times and probably didn't even realise he was missing.

'Hermione,' Kerry said one night as they were sitting on the end of her bed, discussing Draco's predicament once more. 'What is it when there's a guy…this is a purely hypothetical question of course…'

'Of course,' said Hermione, smiling.

'But what is it when there's this guy and you're friends with him and then one day it suddenly hits you that living without him is one of the most unthinkable thing's imaginable and you realise that you want to spend every waking minute with him, that one lifetime by his side is worth a thousand without and…'

'Kerry, why don't you just say it?' said Hermione, smiling even more at her awkward way of admitting it. 'You're in love with Draco Malfoy.'

'No I am not!' she said crossly as Hermione, once again displayed her intelligence by hitting the nail on the head. 'I just, well, miss him,' she finished softly.

'_That_, my friend, is obvious,' said Hermione. 'You haven't slept a wink these past three nights!'

'Can you blame me?' said Kerry, starting to pace up and down, agitatedly. 'I mean, every time I go to Dumbledore and ask him he tells me there's no sign of the Malfoy's. What if they're never found? What if I never see him again?…'

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Five days had now passed and Draco had almost given up all hope of the Ministry ever getting their act together and finding him before he died of old age. He was still leaving clear footprints and dropping litter, though he daren't write a message for fear his father should find it and then he would know Draco was a traitor.

It was funny, Draco thought as he, once again, was lying on his back looking up at the stars , though this time they seemed to be moving because he was whizzing across the countryside on a flying carpet, about a week ago all I had to worry about was if I'd ever be able to go near the Gryffindors again after that incident in Care of Magical Creatures and _now _I'm worrying if my father's going to murder me for being a traitor. Why is my life so complicated?

It was at times like this Draco remembered back to the conversation he'd had with his father about Kerry. Something was niggling at the back of his mind. He felt uneasy and unsure about the information that somewhere in the school was a person, or even persons, who believed him to be romantically interested in her…which of course he wasn't. The very idea was preposterous! And yet…something still bothered him.

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Why did she miss him so much? Pondered Kerry lying in bed one night Six days it had been now. Six days! Kerry was a wreck and she knew it. But keeping herself properly groomed just didn't seem important any more.

The next morning she trudged wearily down to Professor Dumbledore's office, as she did every morning, to see if there was any news on the Malfoy's. There hadn't been any sign of them since they'd disappeared and Kerry was beginning to give up all hope.

She reached the stone gargoyle and was just about to knock when the gargoyle sprang open . Kerry jumped back, surprised.

'Ahh, Miss Summers. I was hoping I'd find you. Do please come in. There's news.!' It was, of course, Professor Dumbledore.

'News!' Kerry almost squealed as he led her through his office. 'Have they found him?'

'Not as yet, no,' he replied but, seeing her face fall, he continued. 'But the Ministry are hot on their track. It appears Draco, or else they're been very careless but I doubt that's the case, has been dropping litter as a…a…trail, if you like. The Ministry's assured me that with clues like that they'll be caught up with them any day now!'

For the rest of that day Kerry hardly heard a word of her lessons. All she could think of was how near the Ministry could be to her friend…or how far!

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A/N. The next chapter is the last!!! I felt this was dragging on waaaay to much so I quite simply ended it!!! Midnight Breeze rules….go read all her stuff!!!!:}

Disclaimer: My, my, haven't done one of these in a while!!! I own nada except for Kerry who is mine!!!!!:} 


	5. Reunited

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How Ever Will She Ever Live Without Me!

A/N. I wrote the first bit of this chapter in PSE at school on the back of my science work because I couldn't find any other paper!!! I was, in fact, supposed to writing about my achievements…but I didn't, this was more fun!!!!:} 

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Chapter Five: Reunited 

Another day, another endless day of running from the people who I should be running towards, not away from. But to I ever have a choice in what _I _want to do, _no _of course not, thought Draco, taking advantage of the quiet and serenity of the woodland where they had stopped for a brief supper. Draco just could not believe the Ministry hadn't caught up with them, and was beginning to get a sneaky suspicion that perhaps, for some reason, Kerry hadn't gone to Dumbledore or…or…or that they'd given up hope. It had been almost a week…a week…a whole crummy week. And apparently the Ministry were making absolutely _no_ effort to track down an escaped prisoner and his family. Useless, the lot of them, that's what they were, useless!

Once again Draco's thoughts turned back to Kerry. He ever will she live without me, he thought smugly.

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How ever will I live without him, sighed Kerry to herself, we've got a Potions test next week and I _need _him to help me revise! (A/N. Now, I think I may have to explain this bit, Kerry's not being shallow here, ok, I put this in to make it funny! He says 'how ever will she live without me' and then _she_ says 'how ever will I live without him' and you think "oh, look, she loves him that's why she's saying that because she misses him…like Draco foretold" but in actual fact you're wrong because then she say about a Potions test and you realise that she does not mean that at all…and I have no idea why I'm explaining this because no one is reading this story except Midnight Breeze and I've already explained it to her so that has just completely wasted my time!!!:})

That night Draco was awoken from his slumber with a lot of clattering, banging and shouting. Before he'd even had time to open his eyes he felt a pair of hands roughly grab him and pull him to his feet. He heard his father's swearing and mother's shrieks before he realised who these people were.

'About time!' he snapped angrily to the person holding him, as he struggled out of their firm grip. 'I thought you'd never come!'

Kerry had been staring absentmindedly out of the window in Charms when Professor McGonagall summoned her from the room. Fearing the worst, she trudged gloomily out into the corridor. To her surprise McGonagall was smiling.

'I have some good news,' she said. 'The Ministry caught up the Malfoy family and Draco is back safe and sound. He's in my office but…' but she didn't even get time to finish her sentence before Kerry, hope rising like a balloon, ran down the corridor to the office.

Flinging open the door she stopped all conversation inside and she looked round. All the important Ministry members in the room turned round, disgruntled, to look at her but she didn't care about them. There was only one person in the room she cared about at that moment.

'Draco!' she half shrieked, feeling tears or relief well up in her eyes.

He turned round, saw her, and almost immediately smiled broadly in a very un-Draco-like way.

Before he could even comprehend what had just appeared through the doorway, he was caught up in a huge hug that almost bowled him over. It was at this point he realised how much he'd really missed. A strange yearning appeared in his heart and he held her body close to his, breathing in the scent of her hair. 

For how long the two of them stood there they didn't know but all they did know was that they wanted to stay like this for the rest of their lives.

When they finally broke apart, Kerry opened her mouth to say something to him but he put a finger to her lips, took her hand, and led her out the room.

'Excuse me,' he said to the prying eyes of the grown ups as he firmly shut the door.

'Now we can talk,' he said, looking deeply into her eyes.

Kerry stammered a few times, trying to unlock the feelings in her heart but, giving up at trying to express herself with words, she leant foreword and kissed him.

He stood there for a few seconds, feeling her lips on his, before he pulled away, startled.

'D…Draco,' she stammered, looking plainly horrified. 'I'm s…so sorry about…about…that I'm just so glad you're alive and I…' here she lowered her eyes to stop him from seeing the tears that would surely flow when he didn't reciprocate her feelings, and then continued. 'I realised when I was without you how I…what I mean to say is I…oh help me out here, won't you?' she finished almost angrily, raising her eyes to glare at him.

Smiling, he came up to her, put a finger under her chin and uttered three words that he couldn't ever remember saying before in his life.

'I love you.'

'Yes that's…' said Kerry, breathlessly, her head tilting up towards his. 'That's exactly what I…what I meant to…to say,' she finished before their lips connected in what was to be one of the first of many kisses.

When they finally tore themselves away from each other, Draco replied jokingly.

'Yeah sure that's what you were going to say! Though I don't blame you, _I_ am a good-looking chap.'

'Grrrrr,' she growled.

As she took a swing at him, he caught her hand in one of his own, and they started walking.

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The End

A/N. Yup, that's it folks, the end…..cya soon!!!!:}

Disclaimer: That last sentence was taken directly from the end of a book called 'Fatal Secrets' by Richie Tankersley Cusick and, obviously, I do not own that because that is not my name!!! The only other thing I own is Kerry and JK owns the rest!!!:} 

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